HeyManny

Maynard opted not to belt out the big finish – the last few lines – of Vicarious, instead he let the crowd have the honors, and they (we) did a pretty good job IMHO. Everyone understood why he didn’t sing that part too… He said he’d been sick for a couple weeks and asked that we bear with him. I would never have known that there was a problem with his voice.

This was my second Tool show – the last one being 4 years ago at the UC. Here are some of the differences I noticed between the 2 shows:
- Gone are the huge video screens that flanked the stage. Instead the stage itself was the screen, along with an 8 foot wall along the back. As they were setting up I was wondering why the stage was all white. On it they projected (although I’ll be damned if I could say from where – from behind? underneath perhaps?) images and patterns and occasionally video footage (especially on Schism). It kinda reminded me of those old 60’s rock “videos” where the band would play in front of some psychedelic swirling tie-dyed backdrop. But this was way more sophisticated…clear…creative – mine blowing even.

- No guitar for Maynard. This time he played a l'il keyboard occasionally. He used it as a pitch pipe before he started singing The Pot and he played it all the way through Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days.

- Instead of his familiar hand held mike, Maynard use a mike stand throughout most of the show. This is a small change I know but significant in some way I think. Sometimes he would run in circles trying to decide where to set it down. For Rosetta Stoned he had a handheld with some gizmo slung over his shoulder –some type of voice modulator I suppose.

Maynard hit the stage wearing a cowboy hat and dungarees with a huge brass belt buckle. He also wore an ATF jacket which he removed and put back on a few times (he must have really had the chills – he lied down on stage during Lost Keys). At times when he wasn’t singing he did some country dance moves. When he took off the cowboy hat you could see he was sporting a Mohawk.

Overall the show was incredible. The sound was great. My chick, who is not really even a Tool fan, said it was awesome – so what does that tell you? Danny is amazing to watch. Unfortunately a cymbal was blocking my view so it looked like a human torso with a cymbal head. With the lights and lasers and sound and the overall power of Tool’s music, this is a show I will never forget. Perhaps the best I’ve ever seen.

For the encore break the band stayed on stage, having a seat on the riser Maynard sings from. They sat there for a few minutes then finished up with the last 3 songs. During the encore some string lights were used behind the stage rising up the height of the backdrop in a sort-of hourglass shape. It reminded me of Vegas. As they waved goodbye Adam held up his guitar and swung it like a pendulum for a few seconds as if asking the crowd what they thought of his playing. They (we) roared with approval and all that remained was the traditional throwing stuff out to the audience. Maynard threw out a bunch of water bottles – I wondered if the people who caught them would also catch his cold. Great, GREAT show!

A quick note on ISIS. They remind me of the band at the beginning of Twisted Metal for the PSP. Musically they kinda sounded like a cross between The Cure and Korn. Not a whole lotta lyrics and half of them sung like Cookie Monster (oh how I wish that would go away). Otherwise they have potential if they can write some interesting songs.